Re: Odd disk-read problem

Michael wrote:

John wrote:
Michael wrote:
Black Dragon wrote:
Proctologically Violated©® wrote:

Fadal reading
3.5" floppies.
Gateway desktop.
unformated disk
USB-connected 3.5" drive.
3rd or so disk
another disk.
Really a pain
but grateful.
head alignment
USB device
Disks are pre-formatted.
USB floppy first?
whaaaaaaaaaa!
Last I checked this is the year 2007. With serial and/or Ethernet
communications *readily* available these days, what kind of brain damaged
fucking idiot still uses floppy disks to transfer nc programs?

Oh. Nevermind.

Stupid question. :-/

Ethernet rules, I have never had a disk read error on ethernet connections.

Wonder why the floppy has been obsoleted?
Perhaps due to it's major unreliability? ding, ding, ding

--

Michael Gailey
Artistic CNC Mill, Router and Engraver Programming
3D modeling for Product Design and Development
http://www.microsystemsgeorgia.com/toc.htm




I just came from a customer that took a direct lightning strike at the
pole transformer. With the Ethernet connection in place two rs232 ports
went down and one on a pc.
You got to be nutz to tie all that stuff together with wires. Wireless
would be the only option for an ethernet connection.

John

The cnc was not grounded?
No surge suppressor either?
What about the UPS, no?




Grounding the CNC machine does not protect it from lightning spikes
coming in on the eathernet connection, in fact it will enhance the
problem.


Surge suppressors are not designed to absorb the full power of a
lightning strike.

UPS? What will that do unless you put an isolated system to power up
each cnc computer.


The only good way to stop problems with lightning is keeping it out of
the building in the first place. Grounds grounds and more grounds
outside the service entrance will divert the lightning. I dont remember
exactly but I think the ground resistance should be something like
1x10^-6 ohms to be completely effective against lightning.


Do all cnc machines have wireless capability? Not very many yet.
Shop computers are usually older recycled pc's, most likely with out
wireless cards.

Wireless is not all that expensive, depending on how and where you get
it. You can easily attach an external wireless connection to any rs 232
connection.


If you are running all the latest cnc's and pc's yes, wireless is a
great option.



We got around all of the ethernet, wireless, floppy etc methods.





I set up our cnc machines with a cd writer cabled into the control,
beside they are just basic laptop computers anymore that run Windows
anyway. Get a 2 drive cd cable a power plug and Windows sets up the
rest. It's an easy setup with no ethernet or wireless. We burn a cd and
take it to the cnc, we never drop a connection while running. Again, it
takes a new cnc to be able to do this. We bypass having a shop pc on the
floor. It works great for mold programs which sometimes get quite long.
CD's last 40 years, so they say, so we just archive discs for later on.

We still ground the cnc anyway.



That sounds like a good workable system for long programs. CDs last a
long time except they are subject to the same damaging effects of the
grit and grime of the shop floor. Floppys work for smaller programs adn
are cost effective since old hardware is dirt cheap. I bought 15 IBM
all in one computers at a school auction a couple of years ago.
I loaded them with dos and a simple terminal program and put one at each
cnc. The programs are saved on a main computer and backed up once a
week to a CD.



John
.